This proposal would have to be combined with the continuation of the current EU import ban, which expires on September 15. The other 26 EU commissioners do not (yet?) agree with this and have postponed the matter to this week.
Wojciechowski states that Ukraine and the five EU neighboring countries agree with his proposal for a transport subsidy of about thirty euros per ton. This would keep the purchase price of Ukrainian grain competitive on international markets. However, Ukraine is absolutely opposed to the extension of the temporary restrictions on European imports in those five countries.
There is currently a ban until the end of this week on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflowers from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Kyiv has already threatened to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the EU if Brussels decides to extend that ban.
Also last weekend, Polish PiS politicians made emphatic statements during their election campaign about potentially blocking border crossings again to prevent tons of (cheaper) Ukrainian grain from flooding their local markets. Parliamentary elections will be held in Poland in four weeks, and the ruling PiS party for Law and Justice is trying to regain voter support in the Polish agricultural countryside.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Agriculture Minister Robert Telus appeared on Saturday in front of TV cameras at a border crossing with Ukraine. “The government is consistently pursuing its policy to protect Polish agriculture. As promised, we will defend our country against the flow of Ukrainian grain,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who visited the border crossing at Dołhobyczów with Minister Robert Telus.
There they reiterated their wish that the import ban be extended. However, they also stated that the grain (and some other agricultural products) may be transported by road or rail through their country to ports in other EU countries. That would allow the continuation of the current situation (controlled transit). In that case, no separate decision from the 27 EU Commissioners is needed, unless Wojciechowski or President von der Leyen escalate the issue.